Texas State’s Native American Student Association will hold its third annual Native American Cultural Awareness Conference on March 25, in the LBJ Student Center.

Sponsored by a gift from the Killeen-based Four Winds Intertribal Society (FWIS), the conference is intended to promote diversity through cultural knowledge specific to Native Americans. Organizers hope to use the conference to dispel stereotypes about Native Americans, and create a deeper understanding of Native American culture through storytelling, cultural exhibitions, lectures, and interactions with the Native American community.

FWIS has also agreed to dedicate its endowed scholarship fund, established in 2008, for Native American students at Texas State. The scholarship will be dedicated to the memory of Patricia Maxwell Duncan, and will be named in her honor, as well as FWIS.A breakfast and pot-luck lunch will be provided, and fourteen invited speakers will lead discussions about Native American topics, ranging from archeology to cosmology. Scheduled speakers and topics include:

Dr. Shannon Speed – Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas.“Indians are Indians, Here or There: Native Peoples of the U.S. and Latin America.”

Suzette Locke – Secretary of the Chickasaw Community Council of South Texas.
“The Only Good Indian”